The Art of Portrait Drawing: Part II

Deepen your understanding of portrait drawing in this focused five-week course led by artist Michele del Campo. Through demonstrations, guided exercises, and personalized feedback, participants will continue developing the essential skills needed to capture the structure, likeness, and expressive qualities of the human face.

Each session begins with a demonstration by the instructor, followed by hands-on drawing exercises. Students receive individual feedback and corrections throughout the class, helping refine technique and strengthen observational skills.

By the end of the course, students will strengthen the foundational skills of portraiture, including proportion, structure, tonal modeling, and observation. These essential principles can be applied across many creative disciplines, including drawing, painting, and sculpture.

Learning is supported through continuous feedback. The instructor will move throughout the class offering individual guidance and, when helpful, making direct corrections on drawings. Group discussions and shared critiques will also be incorporated, allowing students to learn from one another while refining their techniques.

Class Breakdown: 

Week 1: Scaling a Drawing — The Grid Method

Learn how to accurately enlarge or reduce a photographic reference using the grid method while maintaining correct proportions. This session will also explore line quality, tonal values, and expressive mark-making. By the end of the class, students will complete a carefully observed realistic portrait.

Week 2: Freehand Drawing and Facial Feature Studies

Focus on the underlying structure of the head and the fundamental proportions of the face. Students will break down and study individual features—including the eyes, nose, and mouth—and practice drawing them from multiple angles.

Week 3: Building the Face in Space 

After studying facial features individually, we will explore how they relate to each other as the head turns in space. Students will learn shadow mapping techniques and work with tonal values to create depth and dimensionality in their portraits while drawing from a live subject.

Week 4: Portraits from a Live Model — Additive and Subtractive Methods

Work from a live model while experimenting with two contrasting approaches to drawing:

• Additive drawing: building shadows on white paper
• Subtractive drawing: pulling light from toned paper using an eraser

These techniques help develop sensitivity to light, form, and character while strengthening the ability to capture a convincing likeness.

Week 5: Multiple Portraits Intensive

In this lively final session, volunteers will take turns posing for short 15-minute portraits. This dynamic exercise allows students to observe a variety of faces and quickly adapt their drawing approach. Experiencing the portrait process from both sides of the easel creates a supportive and engaging environment while sharpening observational skills.

Instructor Bio:

Michele Del Campo lives and works in Miami. He grew up in San Nicandro Garganico, a small town in Southern Italy. Isolated in the countryside, he would spend his leisure time drawing and painting. At 18, he moved to Milan and then to the UK to become an artist and discover a bigger world. He continued living in multiple cities and countries, adapting to different environments and meeting people from all walks of life, which enriched the narrative of his painting. 

Michele holds a Fine Arts degree and an MFA from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (2007, Spain), and a BA(Hons) in Illustration and Printmaking from the University of Dundee (2001, UK). His paintings have been exhibited in art galleries and institutions around Europe, United Kingdom, United States and South America, earning him awards such as the BMW Painting Prize in Spain, the Premios Luces in Peru and the Oil Painters of America Prize in the ARC Salon, among others.